Psychiatry Research EG

INTRODUCTION: Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is a prevalent health problem that has been inadequately investigated in the Arab world. An Arabic assessment instrument for FSD is urgently needed. AIM: To validate the Arabic version of the Female Sexual Function Index (ArFSFI). METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted between January and April 2010. Eight hundred and fifty-five women (16-60 years old) participated in the study. Validation was carried out on aspects of face, content, discriminant, and criterion (concurrent) validity. Construct validity was evaluated using principal component analysis. Reliability studies on test-retest and on internal consistency were conducted with Pearson correlation and Cronbach"s alpha, respectively. The best cutoff point for the ArFSFI to differentiate cases and noncases was determined using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Parameters of validity and reliability of the ArFSFI and its domains. RESULTS: ArFSFI total score and scores of various domains showed high test-retest reliability (r from 0.92 to 0.98). ArFSFI domains showed high internal consistency (α from 0.85 to 0.94). Six hundred and forty-four women (75.32%) met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, criteria for diagnosis of sexual dysfunction while 211 women (24.68%) showed normal function. The ArFSFI was found to have good discriminant validity. There were significant differences between the mean scores of women with sexual dysfunction and those of women without sexual dysfunction. A total score of 28.1 was taken as the cutoff point for the ArFSFI to distinguish between women with FSD and women with normal function (sensitivity 96.7%, specificity 93.2%). The ArFSFI showed an excellent overall performance (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.985, 95% confidence interval 0.978-0.992). CONCLUSION: The ArFSFI is a validated, reliable, and locally accepted tool for use in the assessment of FSD in the Egyptian population.